Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Tuesday said he agrees with a new poll showing that GOP voters trust Donald Trump rather than himself to lead the Republican Party.

“I hope it’s Donald Trump. He’s getting the nomination,” Ryan, the highest-ranking elected Republican in the country, told reporters at a news conference.

An NBC News/SurveyMonkey online poll released Tuesday morning showed that nearly six in 10 Republican voters "trust" Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, to lead the party. Only four in 10 voters say they have more faith in Ryan, the 2012 vice presidential nominee, as the party’s leader.

Asked directly if he believes Trump is the leader of the Republican Party, the Speaker replied: “Good Lord, I hope it is, because the person who is getting the nomination is the person to lead our party.”